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Juniper is a coniferous evergreen plant, widespread in the northern and western parts of Europe, in Siberia, in North and South America. Most often it can be found in the undergrowth of a coniferous forest, where it forms dense thickets. The article provides a description and photo of juniper Arnold – a new columnar variety used for landscaping land, park areas and sanatoriums.
Description of common juniper Arnold
Common juniper Arnold (Juniperus communis Arnold) is a slow-growing coniferous tree of the cypress family with a columnar crown. Its branches are directed vertically, tightly pressed against each other and rush upward at an acute angle. Needle needles 1,5 cm long have a green, dark green or green-blue color. In the second or third year, cones ripen, having a black-blue color with a white-blue bloom. Juniper cone berries are conditionally edible and have a sweetish taste. The size of one fruit ranges from 0,5 to 0,9 mm, 3 brown seeds ripen inside (sometimes 1 or 2).
Arnold juniper grows only 10 cm per year, and by the age of ten its height is 1,5 – 2 m with a crown width of about 40 – 50 cm. This ornamental tree is classified as a dwarf tree, since it rarely grows above 3 – 5 meters.
Juniper Arnold in landscape design
In landscape design, Arnold juniper is used to create alpine slides, coniferous alleys, a Japanese garden, hedges or heather slopes. The beauty of this variety adds sophistication to park areas, and is also often used in garden design. The plant is planted as single compositions, and ordinary plantings in mixed groups.
Planting and caring for juniper Arnold
Planting and caring for common juniper Arnold is not particularly difficult. The plant loves sunny areas, feels good in light shading, and in dense shade the color of the needles turns pale, the crown is poorly formed. It is desirable that the sun’s rays illuminate the juniper throughout the day, the density and growth rate of the needles depend on this.
Arnold does not tolerate harassment, therefore it requires a lot of space – the distance between seedlings should be 1,5 – 2 m. This juniper variety does not have special soil requirements, but it grows better in drained, sandy loamy, moist soils with acidity values from 4,5 up to 7 pH. He does not like clay, stagnant soils, so drainage and sand must be added to the root pit when planting.
Juniper Arnold does not feel well in a gassed area, therefore it is more suitable for growing in personal plots.
Seedling and planting preparation
Juniper seedlings with an earthen clod are soaked in water for two hours before planting – for good impregnation. A seedling with an open root system is treated with a root formation stimulator, for example, Kornevin.
Landing pits are prepared in late April, early May or in the first half of autumn. The width and depth of the pit should be 3 times the earthen coma. A layer of drainage of 20 cm of sand or gravel is laid out at the bottom.
Rules of landing
The earth mixture is prepared from 2 parts of leafy soil, one part of sand and one part of peat. When planting, it is important to ensure that the root neck remains not buried in the soil. It should be 5-10 cm higher than the edges of the pit in adult plants and flush with the soil in young seedlings. If you deeply deepen or raise the neck, Arnold juniper may not take root and die.
Watering and top dressing
Variety Arnold does not tolerate dry air. After planting, seedlings should be watered once or twice a week for a month, depending on the weather. At least 10 liters of water should go per plant. If the weather is dry and hot, it is recommended to additionally sprinkle each tree, since the needles evaporate a lot of moisture. Juniper Arnold is drought-resistant and requires watering no more than 2-3 times per season (approximately 20-30 liters of water per adult tree). In dry weather, it is necessary to water 1 – 2 times a month.
Top dressing is carried out once a year at the beginning of May with Nitroammophos (40 g per sq. M.) or water-soluble fertilizer “Kemira Universal” (20 g per 10 liters of water).
Mulching and loosening
Twice a year, in autumn and early spring, the soil must be mulched with a layer of 7–10 cm high compost.
Trimming and shaping
Juniper Arnold tolerates a haircut well. Pruning is carried out once a year, in early spring, and is reduced to the removal of dry, diseased or damaged branches. This is done to stimulate the growth of new shoots, from which the crown is formed. Since juniper Arnold grows very slowly, it should be cut carefully, trying not to damage healthy twigs.
Preparation for winter
Juniper is a frost-resistant plant that can withstand low temperatures down to -35 ° C. However, this columnar species does not tolerate snowfalls well, therefore it is recommended to tie the crown with a rope or ribbon for the winter. In autumn, young plants are sprinkled with a 10-cm layer of peat and covered with spruce branches.
Reproduction
Juniperus communis Arnold can be propagated in two ways:
- Seeds. This method is considered the most difficult. Only freshly harvested seeds are suitable for it. Before planting, the seeds are subjected to scarification (the outer layer is broken by exposure to cold for 120-150 days). This is done because of their dense shell – to facilitate germination. Then they are planted in the ground and watered as the earthen clod dries.
- Semi-woody cuttings. The most common way. In the spring, a young juniper shoot “with a heel” (maternal fragment) is cut off, planted in a prepared substrate, where it then takes root. The temperature should be at first +15 – 18 ° C, then increase to +20 – 23 ° C.
Sometimes juniper Arnold is propagated by layering, but this method is rarely resorted to, as this threatens to disrupt the characteristic shape of the crown.
Diseases and pests
Juniper Arnold is most often exposed to diseases and suffers from pests in the spring, when after winter his immunity is weakened.
Description and photos of common ailments of common juniper Arnold:
- Rust. This disease is caused by the fungus Gymnosporangium. The affected areas, in which the mycelium is located, thicken, swell and die. These growths have a bright red or brown hue.
- Tracheomycosis. It is also a fungal infection caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. At the same time, the needles of the juniper turn yellow and crumble, and the bark and branches dry out. First, the tops of the shoots die off, and as the mycelium spreads, the whole tree dies.
- Shute brown. The disease is caused by the fungus Nerpotrichia nigra and is manifested by yellowing of the shoots. Due to the formed black growths, the needles acquire a brown tint and crumble.
In addition to diseases, Arnold juniper suffers from various pests, such as:
- angled moth: this is a small butterfly whose caterpillars feed on needles without damaging the branches of the plant;
- juniper shield: the parasite belongs to sucking insects, its larvae stick to the needles, because of which it dries up and dies;
- gall midges: small mosquitoes 1-4 mm in size. Their larvae stick together juniper needles, forming galls, inside which the parasites live, causing the shoots to dry out;
- Aphids: a sucking parasite that loves young shoots and greatly weakens the plant’s immunity;
- spider mite: a tiny insect that feeds on the contents of the cells and braids young twigs with a thin cobweb.
In order to prevent diseases, juniper Arnold must be sprayed with phosphate or sulfur preparations, as well as fed, watered and mulched in time.
In addition, to reduce the risk of certain fungal infections, juniper should not be planted next to fruit trees (for example, pears). This is due to the fact that mushrooms are heterogeneous pests and move from juniper to pear and back every year. One has only to separate the trees, as a harmful fungus will die in a year.
Conclusion
The above description and photo of juniper Arnold allows us to conclude that this unpretentious plant, with proper care, will delight the eye with its beauty for a long time. It is enough to carry out annual activities for feeding and spraying – and the juniper will thank you with good growth, as well as healthy, green and fragrant shoots.